Top Gun 1986

"I did not like the screenplay and I did not want to do the movie. I think glorifying some aspects of war is dangerous. While we were filming this cartoon version, they had to do it for real. I know that I was acting up a storm for some of the fighter pilots in the movie, because what I was presenting to them was exclusively their version of what the world is. I knew that unless I embraced their side, I'd come up against a brick wall. But there were some guys that couldn't find a way to talk to them, because their egos are even grander than those of actors. They should have called it Top Ego. I would suspend my own political beliefs, my own morality, talking to them about what it meant for them to go to work, trying to find a common ground." ~Val Kilmer

Take My Breath Away

Story An egotistical navy pilot Pete Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is sent to Miramar Naval Air Station for advanced training. Here he vies with Tom Kasansky (Val Kilmer) for the coveted "Top Gun" award. When not so occupied, Mitchell carries on a romance with civilian consultant Charlotte Blackwood (Kelly McGillis). Shaken up by the death of his best friend and flying partner, Mitchell loses the Top Gun honor to Kasansky. Worried that he may have lost his nerve, Mitchell is given a chance to redeem himself during a tense international crisis involving a crippled US vessel and a flock of predatory enemy planes. 

Our Two Cents It was a bit of a "stretch" for Cruise to play McGillis' love interest. Because the beautiful McGillis is so much taller than Cruise, she had to slouch whenever she was in a scene with him.  On the other hand, Kilmer's tall lean body gave him "hunk status" with women all over the world. 

Best Scene When Kasansky chomps his teeth at Mitchell. Kilmer can make a scene memorable without uttering a word.

FYI This is the first film Kilmer made with McGillis, the second being At First Sight.